


There's Change Coming

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Series: For Even a Day [9]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/M, M/M, Royalty AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27948497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: "We're going to be parents?"
Relationships: David Jacobs & Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Jack Kelly & Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Series: For Even a Day [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705639
Comments: 18
Kudos: 53





	There's Change Coming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Interpolations](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Interpolations/gifts).



> I think I just need to stop saying this series is done.

“There’s something you ought to know, Davey,” Jack says, once he’s sure Davey is awake.

“Oh, is there?” Davey replies. His fingers are tracing lazy circles on the skin over Jack’s heart, which doesn’t stop, but he tips his head back to look at Jack’s face.

“Yeah, some news.”

“Good news?”

“Good news,” Jack confirms. “I – shit, I’ve been trying to decide how to tell you for a while now, and I just –“

“Jack,” Davey cuts in. “Sweetheart, just tell me. It’s good news, you said, just spit it out.”

“Kitty’s pregnant.”

Davey pushes off of Jack’s chest, up onto his elbow to look at Jack more straight on. “Are you fucking with me?”

“I am not,” Jack says seriously.

Davey leans down and presses his mouth to Jack’s in a firm kiss. “We’re going to be parents?”

It comes out like that before he really has a chance to think it over, but -

“We’re going to be parents,” Jack confirms.

“How long has she known?”

“Not very. Long enough the letter could’ve reached you before you left, but we figured it would be better for one of us – for me, I guess – to tell you when you got home.”

“I genuinely cannot believe that you two managed that without me here,” Davey says, amused.

“I really wanna take offense to that, Davey-mine,” Jack replies lazily. “But we both know it wouldn’t be justified.”

Davey laughs brightly. “Was it as awful as you both thought it would be?”

Jack shoves Davey away, pushing him onto the pillows to his left side. “I hate you.”

“You don’t,” Davey teases. “You _love_ me, Jackie. You love me and you missed me and –“

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” says Jack. He rolls onto his side, facing Davey. “It was, honestly, it was awkward as fuck.”

Davey snorted. “But you survived, I see.”

“And so did Kitty,” Jack says, “and now the three’a us are gonna be parents. I _maintain_ that this would’ve been a lot easier if _you_ had just –“

“Sweetheart,” Davey cuts in, rolling his eyes, “no.”

“Nobody would’ve known.”

“With our luck, the baby would’ve had blue eyes and _everyone_ would’ve known.”

Jack laughs. “Yeah, probably.”

Davey slides out of bed, tugging Jack by the arm after him. “Come on, I want to go find Katherine. We need to celebrate.”

\--

There is no better feeling in the entire world, Spot thinks, than waking up next to his husband for the first time in six whole months.

Race seems to agree, because the more awake he becomes, the tighter he clings to Spot. He nuzzles his face into Spot’s hair, pressing a kiss just above his ear.

“I don’t know how Davey managed a year away,” he murmurs, “six months damn near killed me.”

“Davey doesn’t have a spouse though,” says Spot. “It was probably easier on him.”

Race makes a sad little noise at the back of his throat. “I don’t think it’s that straightforward. He and Jack, they’re the real deal, you know? Or they would’ve been, save Kitty.”

“Shit,” says Spot. “For real?”

“I think they’ve got things worked out better than before,” Race says, a little distant. “Like, remember that day ‘fore you ‘n I got married when Davey had that huge fight with the girl he’d been seein’ in the courtyard?”

“After you jumped off the balcony, yeah.”

“I didn’t jump –“

“Albert said you jumped. _Davey_ said you jumped.”

“Semantics,” Race says, waving the thought away. “Anyways, I think whatever went down with her kind of broke him? Things changed ‘tween him and Jacky after that. For the better, I think. But they’d’a gotten married if Jack hadn’t had to do the king thing, they woud’a. I know they would’a.”

Spot hums. “Well, shit. I always got the impression Jack was pretty happy with all that.”

“He was. He _is_ ,” says Race. “But it definitely ain’t as easy for him as it is for us.”

“Well, not everybody can be as lucky as us,” Spot replies. He leans up and kisses his husband. “And I count myself damn lucky.”

“You fuckin’ better,” Race says, smiling sweetly. “I’m a catch.”

Spot laughs, pausing only to kiss Race again. “Don’t I know it.”

\--

The Conlons – being Race, Spot, and the girls – stay in Manhattan Castle for a week after Race and Davey get home.

During that week, a couple of important things happen.

One: Les Jacobs finally gets his shit together enough to actually ask Spot for permission to court his little sister.

“And what makes you think you’re good enough for Maebh, exactly?” Spot says, arms crossed, playing up the intimidating older brother role as much as he can. He’s honestly pretty amused by how anxious Les looks about the whole thing, which is particularly funny given the fact that Les is something like eight inches taller than Spot.

“I don’t,” Les admits, shifting his weight from side to side.

Spot raises an eyebrow.

“I really like her, Sean,” Les says softly. “I’m sure she deserves someone smarter or more handsome or just – just _better_ than I am. But I like her an awful lot, she’s been a good friend to me, and I’d be good to her, you know I would.” He sweeps a hand through his hair in a gesture that reminds Spot inescapably of his older brother. “And I’m a Jacobs,” he adds, somewhat of an afterthought. “There are worse families for her to marry into.”

“Short of marrying a Manhattan herself, I can’t think of a better one,” Spot says.

The kid _lights up_. “Is that a yes?”

“Les,” Spot says seriously, “of course it’s a yes. Maebh adores you.”

Les pulls Spot into an exuberant hug. He backs away just as quickly, though, shoving his hands into his pockets.

(Another gesture Spot can’t help associating with Davey. It’s honestly pretty sweet how much Les takes after him, and if Les is half the man his brother is then he knows Maebh is in good hands.)

“Thanks,” Les says, grinning a little nervously. “I – thanks.”

Spot laughs. “Don’t thank me, kid. Just – why don’t you go tell her, huh?”

Les nods and scurries off.

Race drapes himself over Spot’s shoulders. “You held out longer than I thought you would, sweets.”

“I wanted to see what he’d say,” Spot admits. “I was going to say yes no matter what. Like I could say no to Mae-Mae, when she looks at him like she does.”

Race pecks him on the cheek. “Softie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” says Spot. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Two: Jack and Katherine make an interesting announcement.

“A kid?” Race says, sounding thrilled. He lifts Katherine off the ground and spins her around a few times. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you guys!”

Katherine laughs, kissing Race on the cheek once she’s set back on her feet. “Thanks, Racer.”

“How long?” Race asks, his eyes flicking down to Katherine’s stomach.

“Another seven months or so,” Katherine replies.

“We’ll come visit when the baby’s born,” Race says firmly. He turns toward Spot, his expression bright and hopeful. “Won’t we, Spotty?”

Spot laughs. “Of course we will.” He ruffles Race’s hair. “Of _course_.”

“And between then and now, too, I hope,” says Jack, one eyebrow raised.

Race looks over at Spot again, who just keeps laughing.

“As if I could say no to you,” Spot says to Race, shaking his head. He looks up at Jack. “Yeah, we’ll be around, you know we will.”

Jack nods. Davey throws one arm around his shoulders, pulling Katherine in by the waist with the other one. “We should celebrate.”

“Oh, should we?” says Jack, amused.

“Yes!” Race cheers. “Absolutely. We’re all already here for a celebration, what’s another one?”

They get a little party thrown together in almost no time, which impresses Spot. He lingers off to one side, mostly watching. Race is flitting around between his family members, and as much as Spot has missed him he’s not inclined to call Race back to him – they’ll be leaving in a few days and Race deserves every second he can get with his siblings and mother.

Les and Maebh are sitting together off to one side, under the watchful eye of Sarah Jacobs. They’re a respectable distance apart on their little couch, but if Maebh pecks Les on the cheek as a goodbye, Spot will look the other way and he knows Sarah will, too.

Of interest, almost as much interest as his husband who seems to be bouncing between three different conversations with so much genuine happiness in his expression it makes Spot’s chest ache, is the fact that the new parents-to-be are largely keeping to themselves – or, perhaps more accurately, keeping to themselves and Davey. They talk to anyone who approaches them, but they don’t seek out the company of anyone else.

Davey is almost always between them, leaning on a table or sitting with his long limbs curled up onto the chair with him, Jack and Katherine on either side of him. For all that this is a celebration of Katherine and Jack’s child, it’s clear that the three of them are still wrapping their heads around _Davey is home_.

(Spot, his eyes finding Race again entirely of their own accord, can relate.)

Three: Race and Davey spend every free moment together.

This is less a specific instance than just something Spot notices – it’s a funny thing, too, because with Race always comes Spot and after Davey always trails Jack, so a side effect of how attached at the hip Race and Davey are is that Spot spends a lot of the week in the quiet company of his older brother-in-law.

“It’ll be hard on them,” Jack says a little sadly the day before the Conlons are due to leave. “Saying goodbye after all this time just the two of them.”

Spot shrugs. “It’s always hard on them. They’re awful attached to each other.”

“Guess that means you’ve just got to come around more often,” says Jack.

“I don’t think that’s _possible_. We’re already here whenever we can get away.”

“I’m sure he’ll find some other time he can carve out for it. I know my brother,” Jack replies. He smiles. “And I think you’re a lot like me – can’t turn the love of your life down for anything.”

“And for you that’s –“ Spot says, tipping the end up into a question as he nods toward Davey.

Jack shrugs. “Always has been.”

“How’s he feel about the baby, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Davey knows where we stand,” Jack says, his gaze a little distant. “This was always going to happen. Dave and I work because we – we know what to expect from each other.” He turns toward Spot a little bit, his eyes focusing. “He’s excited. We all are.”

“Good,” says Spot. “That’s good to hear. If half’a Racer’s stories are true about you you’ll be a great dad, Jack.”

Jack laughs. “And if the other half are true, I’ll be a shit one. But I’ve got Kitty and Davey to keep me in line. I think the kid’ll turn out alright.”

Spot nods.

Before either of them can speak again, Race calls Spot over to look at the schematic he and Davey are working on for something on the Conlon property. They don’t pick up the conversation again, but Spot leaves feeling like he understands Jack a little bit better.

Four: on the carriage ride home, Race leans over to whisper into Spot’s ear.

“Do _you_ want kids, sweets?”

Spot turns his head just enough to raise an eyebrow at his husband. He nods toward Fiona and Aisling, who are asleep on the seat across from them. “Not until the ones we have are a little older, hmm?”

Race nods. “But you do, don’t you?”

“Yeah, sweetness,” says Spot. He kisses Race softly. “But we’ve got time. We’ve got plenty of time.”

\--

A little more than halfway though Katherine’s pregnancy, some friends of Race and Davey’s from their time away come to visit. One of them is –

“JoJo!” Katherine calls enthusiastically, waving.

“Kathy!” JoJo replies, scurrying over. “Look at you!”

“Oh, no, please don’t,” says Katherine. “ _Please_ don’t.”

“Davey mentioned you were expecting,” says JoJo. “But it still kind of caught me by surprise. It’s hard to think of us as _adults_ sometimes, let alone you as a parent. I think of you and I just picture that time we snuck off from a party your mother threw when we were, like, ten, and we got lost in the hedge maze.”

Katherine laughs. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I still cannot navigate that maze for my life.”

“Or any,” says Davey, shaking his head. “It’s a wonder she can find her way around the castle.”

“Thank you for your input, Davey,” Katherine says, shoving him playfully.

“What, no greeting for me, Dave?” their other guest says, playing offended.

“Technically, Benny, I didn’t even greet JoJo,” Davey points out, though he pulls the shorter man into a tight hug. “Hey, Ben. How’s life?”

“Great, thank you for asking,” says Benny with a laugh. “Now! Where’s this ballroom you were gushing over?”

\--

True to his word, Race (usually with Spot in tow) visits at least once a month.

He’s around enough that, between everything going on and his relationships with his wife and his Davey, Jack barely has time to miss him between visits.

Jack is not thinking about that right now, because his wife has been in labor for something like twenty hours.

And then someone – he thinks it’s Albert DaSilva’s mother, but he’s not paying a ton of attention – hands him a squirming bundle of blankets and shows him how to support the baby’s head.

“Your daughter, Prince John,” Albert’s mother says, smiling kindly at him.

“Thanks, Margaret,” Jack replies, and as soon as his eyes fall on his daughter’s face they aren’t leaving it for _anything_. He moves over to sit down next to Katherine, who’s exhausted but smiling.

“A girl,” Jack tells her.

“Hello, Lissie,” Katherine says, reaching for her teeny tiny fingers. The three of them – Jack, Katherine, and Davey – had talked extensively about names over the last few months, but they hadn’t actually settled on one. They’d landed on _we’ll decide when we see her_.

“That’s the one, then?” asks Jack.

“I think so.”

“I love it,” says Jack. He leans over and kisses Katherine’s forehead. “I love her, I love you.”

“I love you,” Katherine replies. She kisses the top of their daughter’s head before leaning back on her pillows, exhausted. She takes the baby from him when he offers, though. “Go tell the world. And go tell Davey, I know you’re dying to. “

The entire castle has been more or less at a standstill for the better part of a day, but it’s clear that someone has already told his mother that the baby’s arrived, because she crosses Jack’s path just outside the door.

“It’s a girl,” he says, smiling brightly. “Felicity.”

“Felicity,” Medda echoes, patting his cheek. “Good choice, baby. Go tell the family, I’ll be here with Katherine until you get back.”

“Thanks, Mama,” says Jack. He kisses his mother on the cheek before darting down the hallway.

Davey is doing a very good job of looking like he’s doing his work, but he looks up as soon as Jack enters the room – he’d been waiting, on the edge of his seat just as surely as the rest of the castle.

“Felicity,” is all Jack can choke out.

Davey’s on his feet in an instant, sweeping over to Jack and pulling him into a hug. “Felicity?”

“She’s beautiful, Davey,” Jack says softly.

“I bet she is, doll,” says Davey, amused. “She’s got the prettiest damn parents I’ve ever seen.”

Jack chuckles. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”

Davey twists around, and Jack becomes a little more aware of the presence of the others – Sarah has been in and out for the last day, but the boys (save Jack) had been ordered to wait in one of the sitting rooms for news.

“Charlie, write Racer,” Davey says, which Jack had honestly forgotten about. “He’s only said about two hundred times that he wanted to visit when the baby’s born. Well, she’s born.” He pats Jack’s shoulder. “Felicity what, Jackie-mine?”

“We didn’t settle it,” Jack replies. “I wanted to come tell you.” He clears his throat, adding, “all of you.”

Les snorts, not looking up from the chess game he’s playing with Charlie.

“Can I come see her?” Davey asks quietly.

“Of course,” says Jack.

They’ve spent the last few months talking in more concrete terms about what _parenting_ would look like – Katherine knows better than anyone in the world what Jack and Davey are to each other, and she made it clear in no uncertain terms that Davey was to be a part of the baby’s life. A parental part, more or less.

Davey’s stride is longer than Jack’s, and he almost outpaces him back to Katherine.

When they get back, the baby is in Medda’s arms, though when they returned she handed Felicity off to Davey with a kind smile.

She pats Jack’s shoulder, stepping out with a word about writing Katherine’s parents.

“Do you ever get the impression she knows more than she lets on?” Jack asks, his eyes still on the door his mother had left through.

Davey, fully absorbed in baby Felicity, scoffs.

“Your mother knows everything that happens in this castle, I’m sure,” Katherine says, sounding amused.

Davey perches on the edge of the bed, his eyes still locked on the baby. “Can’t get anything by Queen Medda. Kitty, she’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t she?” says Katherine, her voice going soft.

Jack sits down on the bed, too, feeling slightly overwhelmed by love for his two – now three – favorite people in the world.

“Felicity Adrienne?” Davey suggests, finally looking up at Jack and Katherine.

Katherine nods. “Jack, you’ve got to pick one, too.”

“I’m the crown prince, and I only get to pick my daughter’s second middle name?”

“Yes,” his wife and his lover say in unison.

“Right, of course,” says Jack. “How do we feel about Felicity Adrienne Joanna Pulitzer Manhattan?”

“I think that’s the one,” says Davey, pressing a soft kiss to Felicity’s head. “Hello, Lissie. We love you.”

\--

“Show me the princess!” Race shouts, bounding into the entry hall.

His long-suffering husband trails behind him at a walk, looking amused.

“Prince Anthony,” Davey says, rolling his eyes. “Welcome home. Sean, welcome back.”

“Anthony,” Race echoes disdainfully. “You’re stalling, Davey-boy. Where’s my niece?”

“She’s upstairs with her parents,” says Davey. “She was asleep when I left.”

“And how is she?” Spot asks.

“Healthy,” Davey says. “Beautiful. She’s got this little fluff of hair right at the top of her head, dark like Jackie’s.”

“I can tell you already love her a lot,” says Race.

“Like my own,” Davey replies, nodding. He smiles reflexively just thinking about her – it’s honestly still kind of hard to believe that she’s finally here and she’s really theirs.

“How many names did they give her?” Race asks.

Davey laughs. “She’s a Manhattan. Five, but two of them are the family names.”

“Spot!” Race says, pulling his husband close with an arm around his shoulders. Spot’s just the right height to tuck neatly into Race’s armpit. “We’re not doing that shit! Our kids get one name, maybe two each.”

“Whatever you say, sweetness,” Spot says with a laugh.

“Are you two thinking of having kids?” Davey asks, interested.

“Starting to,” says Spot, shrugging. “Be nice if Ash was a little more self-sufficient before we got ourselves caught up in babies, though.”

“You’ve got time,” says Davey with a thoughtful hum.

They arrive at Jack and Katherine’s chambers, and the conversation falls into the now usual patterns of _oh my god, look at her_.

“She’s perfect,” Race says a little dreamily, playing with his niece’s tiny fingers. “Hey, Fliss. I’m your Uncle Race. I brought Uncle Spot with me, too.”

Felicity blinks up at him, gurgling a little.

“Oh, really?” says Race. “That’s fascinating. Tell me more.”

Felicity keeps making little burbling sounds, and Race keeps responding like they’re having a conversation. She’s too young for her sounds to really be intentional, but Race seems like he’s having fun.

“He’s finally found a conversationalist on his level,” Spot teases fondly.

Race, carefully out of Felicity’s view, flips him off.

Jack, Katherine, and Davey burst into laughter, but Spot just rolls his eyes.

“How’s it all going so far?” Spot asks them, eyebrows raised.

“We’re doing okay,” says Jack. “She’s got us up at all hours, but that’s just how it goes.”

“We’re happy for you,” says Spot. “She’s a lucky little thing, to have parents like you guys. She’s going to have a lot of love here.”

“Yeah,” says Jack, one arm around Katherine’s shoulders while the other hand finds Davey’s a little more subtly. “She is.”


End file.
